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Treating Stretchmarks
Our skin has three layers of skin: the epidermis,
or outer layer; the dermis, or middle layer;
and the subcutaneous stratum, or deepest
layer. Stretch marks (also known as striae)
occur in the dermis, the elastic and resilient
middle layer that allows skin to retain its
shape. When the dermis is constantly stretched
over time, the skin becomes less elastic
and the connective fibers (collagen and elastin)
are damaged and stretch marks appear.
While heavily dependant on your natural skin
color, stretch marks generally start out
as raised pink, reddish brown or dark brown
lines that then become a brighter violet
or purple. Over time these more vivid marks
flatten and fade to be a few shades lighter
than your normal skin color, and after years,
they eventually become less noticeable, though
they rarely disappear.
Stretch marks pose no health risks and are
purely a cosmetic issue. If you find them
unacceptable and want to get rid of them,
here are some options:
Reddish/brown stretch marks
The most common treatments are Vitamin-C
cream, Retin-A (prescription cream that exfoliates
skin and allows new, healthy cells to grow),
Mederma (an all-natural onion based cream),
and Alpha-Hydroxy-Acids (exfoliants that
work on a similar principle to Retin-A).
A little more expensive but also much more
effective is laser treatment. Lasers can
be used to reach all areas of the stretch
mark, make them match the surrounding skin
most effectively, and to regenerate skin
cells in even the deepest part of the mark.
Optimal results with lasers generally require
2-3 sessions.
White and faded stretch marks
Old stretch marks are much more difficult
to treat; however, a new development called
Coolbeam can help. Coolbeam works by causing
the skin to regenerate elastin and collagen,
and in a test of 95 subjects with mature
stretch marks that had responded to nothing
else, all had their marks reduced in visibility
by 75-100 percent.
For either type
Microdermabrasions and acid peels can be effective in evening out the appearance
of stretch marks. Various surgical options
are also available to try and make a cleaner
or less noticeable scar. |
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